2017 Franchise Tag Candidates

The NFL’s salary cap for 2017 won’t officially be set until sometime after the Super Bowl, but based on the direction the cap has trended in recent years, we have a general idea of where it may end up. Predicting an increase of about 8.2% on this year’s $155.27MM cap, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com projects a 2017 cap of $168MM, and uses that figure to get a sense of what next year’s franchise-tag figures would look like. Although the 2017 cap isn’t yet confirmed, Corry has confirmed the amounts necessary to perform calculations using the franchise-tag formula. So while the official amounts may end up looking a little different, these should be pretty close.

Here are the non-exclusive franchise tag amounts projected by Corry, using a presumed cap of $168M for 2017:

Quarterback: $21.395MM

Running back: $12.377MM

Wide receiver: $15.826MM

Tight end: $9.894MM

Offensive line: $14.444MM

Defensive end: $16.955MM

Defensive tackle: $13.468MM

Linebacker: $14.754MM

Cornerback: $14.297MM

Safety: $10.961MM

Punter/kicker: $4.863MM

All of those figures are modest increases on the 2016 amount, which can be found right here. The most significant increase comes at quarterback, where a new contract for Andrew Luck and a franchise tag for Kirk Cousins helped boost that figure. Wide receiver, which should see an increase of 8.4%, was buoyed by fresh deals for Keenan Allen, Doug Baldwin, and Allen Hurns.

With those numbers in mind, Corry also examines a few potential candidates to be franchised or to receive the transition tag. Cousins is perhaps the most obvious candidate to be tagged again, but Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell, Cardinals edge rusher Chandler Jones, Browns linebacker Jamie Collins, and Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul could also get franchised. For the full list, along with explanations, be sure to check out Corry’s piece, which is an interesting read.

Portions of this post have been modified from an earlier post by PFR editor emeritus Luke Adams.